Keanu Reaves Films New Movie In Buffalo

BUFFALO, NY-- It's something you don't usually see rolling across Main Street in Buffalo; a Hollywood spotlight, microphones and props.

The Buffalo-Niagara Film commissioner calls the shoot for Keanu Reeves' new movie a success. He also calls it an economic boost because in this case they needed hotel rooms for the 80 plus cast and crew, restaurants to cater food on the set and they even brought jobs.

"Local extras are cast and used in the film and they all get paid," said Tim Clark, Buffalo-Niagara Film Commissioner.

Keanu Reeves says it was the architecture and feel of the city that brought him to film in Buffalo, but there was likely an even bigger factor that many hope will sway others to film in New York State.

"It allows a thirty percent tax credit for most expenses," said Clark. "Now it doesn't cover things like the star's salaries and those kinds of things but for what we call below the line expenses."

2 On Your Side's Josh Boose asked Reeves about that tax credit to see how big a role it played in shooting here.

"It helps you make a film," he said.

"Normally it would be very hard to convince financiers to stay in New York," said Lemore Syvan, one of the film's producers. "They would want us to shoot in Chicago, anywhere there is a rebate. We would go there to film for New York."

"That [the tax credit] helped us a lot in terms of structuring our finances," said Svyan.

But the film commission hopes the big pay off will be back here in Buffalo.

"It's probably millions of dollars in free publicity for our community," said Clark.

And there's more on the way.

"We have a major motion picture we will likely be shooting in the next few weeks here," Clark said. "We'll have another big star here in the matter of the next month or so."

That thirty percent tax credit is fairly new. It was first signed in to law in April, 2008 but the legislature needs to vote on it every year.

The filming for "Henry's Crime" continues Thursday in Niagara Falls and Friday they will film in Kenmore.